Renegades
by san121
Summary: Erwen didn't expect to get seperated from Jak and Daxter when they fell through the portal. Now she fights with the Underground to survive and learns about this strange new world around her.
1. Runaway With Me

Erwen blinks awake, squinting in the light peeking through the leaves of the trees around her.

"What the?" Erwen wonders aloud, sitting up and looking around the unfamiliar forest. The sound of crunching leaves causes Erwen to turn around. She comes face to hole with a metal tube, a skinned woman with dark purple hair and cold green eyes- er, eye, as her bangs cover her left eye- holding the tube with a scowl.

"Who the hell are you?" the woman snaps, shoving the tube further into Erwen's face. Erwen smells burnt eco on the tube, a nervous feeling in her stomach.

"Um… Ah…" Erwen flusters, looking from the tube, to the woman, to the forest around them, and back to the tube. The woman narrows her eye at Erwen when the sound of yelling approaches them.

"Mina! We need to go!" A man with wild, vibrant red hair yells, a giant grin on his face. Erwen watches the woman, Mina, turn with a snarl, aim the tube just past the man, and fire what looks like a ball of dark eco at a creature with some sort of gem on it's head. The man leap out of the way, skidding to a halt as the monster roars in pain and collapses. Erwen gapes as the man stands up with a laugh, dusting himself off and turning to Mina.

"Nice shot," he compliments. Mina scowls at him and turns back to where Erwen had landed, jumping when she sees that Erwen is still sitting there.

"The hell? What are you still doing here?" Mina demands. The man looks over Mina's shoulder curiously.

"Who's this?" The man asks.

"I don't know, Leo. Why don't you ask her? Maybe then she'll answer the damn question," Mina snaps. The man, Leo, squats down and grins at Erwen.

"Hey kid. You lost?" Leo asks, his smile kind while his grey eyes are wary.

"Yeah…" Erwen replies, watching Leo and Mina just warily. Leo looks at her expectantly while Mina looks over her tube.

"Well…" Leo trails off, motioning for Erwen to continue.

"Where am I?" Erwen asks. Leo grins easily while Mina narrows her eye at Erwen.

"You're a ways in Haven Forest. Where do you need a lift to?" Leo asks. Erwen pauses, trying to recall if there is any place named Haven Forest near Sandover Village. Realizing Haven Forest has never been mentioned, Erwen looks up hesitantly.

"Do you know of Sandover Village?" Erwen asks. Leo abruptly stills while Mina looks on in confusion.

"That's not a place," Mina tells Erwen, crossing her arms.

"Don't worry," Leo starts, grabbing Erwen's wrist, "I know someone who might know. Head back to headquarters, Mina." Mina raises an eyebrow then shrugs, hefting the tube onto her shoulder.

"Uh huh. Should I tell Torn you took off or just shrug?" Mina asks. Leo throws a cloak over Erwen's shoulders, forcing the hood over her head.

"Tell him whatever will make him not come after us," Leo demands. Erwen spots Mina's eyebrow shooting up.

"Are you going to see her?" Mina asks.

"No," Leo replies, dragging Erwen behind him, "I'm checking in with Onin." He pushes Erwen on to what looks like a zoomer with two seats.

"Get on kid," Leo tells Erwen, getting on the seat with the steering mechanism. Erwen climbs onto the zoomer, yelping as Leo takes off. They pass the trees, moving into areas with large metal buildings.

"So, kid," Leo starts, getting Erwen's attention, "You got a name?"

"Oh, um, Erwen," she answers. Leo slams on the breaks, making Erwen jerk forward with another yelp. Leo looks at Erwen contemplatively, before grinning widely at her.

"Nice to meet you, Erwen. I'm Leo," he introduces himself. Honking behind them causes both driver and passenger to jump in surprise.

"Keep moving, dumbass!" a driver behind them yells.

"Sorry!" Leo calls back, driving onward. Erwen curls on herself, embarrassed and confused.

"Why…" Erwen mutters. Leo hums questioningly.

"Why did you stop? Where are you taking me?" Erwen asks warily.

"If you're really Erwen from Sandover, then you're about to see a familiar face," Leo replies vaguely, driving past a smoking zoomer with an angry man with red-orange hair. Once they completely pass the man, Leo casually flips his middle finger up over his shoulder. Erwen peeks behind them to see the man returning the gesture with both of his hands.

"What's he doing, kid?" Leo asks, returning his hand to the steering wheel.

"Huh? Oh! Uh… He's returning the gesture with both of his hands," Erwen replies, turning back around in her seat. Leo cackles as they enter an area with tarps and tents set up everywhere.

"Here we are," Leo announces, turning off the zoomer in front of a tent. Erwen hops off the zoomer nervously, looking at the tent warily.

"C'mon kid," Leo calls, entering the tent. Erwen follows hesitantly, looking around the tent shyly.

"Ah, Leo! It is good to see you again," a moncaw calls out to Leo, who's standing in the entrance of the tent.

"Good seeing you too, Pecker. I need to speak with Onin," Leo explains, shifting slightly. Erwen peeks around Leo, inhaling sharply once she sees the one he calls Onin.

"Auntie? Is that you?" Erwen asks, stepping forward. Onin looks up with unseeing eyes as the moncaw squawks, "What is she talking about? What are you talking about?"

'Is that really you, Erwen?' Onin-Auntie-motions. Erwen swallows hard, feeling tears form in her eyes.

"Yeah, Auntie. It's me," Erwen confesses, stepping forward. Onin smiles, holding her hands up to Erwen's face. Erwen drops to her knees and closes her eyes, allowing her aunt to feel her face. Once Onin removes her hands, Erwen pulls back and opens her eyes, seeing Onin smile sadly.

'You haven't aged a day,' Onin motions, a whimsical sad smile on her lips. Erwen sniffles and blinks back tears.

"What happened?" Erwen asks softly.

"You time traveled," Leo speaks up, startling Erwen.

"WHAT?!" Pecker squawks, "That is impossible! The only way to so such a thing is to be a Precursor!"

"Or," Leo cuts in, "an eco channeler or a Kima could use precursor technology to do it."

"Well, yes. But, that's extremely AWRK unlikely," Pecker insists. Leo looks at Erwen, causing her to shift uncomfortably.

"I don't think she came alone," Leo states, watching Erwen. She nods slowly and remains, getting a sigh from Leo.

"Alright, kid. We're leaving," Leo announces. Erwen looks between Leo and Onin, only for Onin to wave her off.

'Just be careful, dear,' Onin signs. Erwen bites her lip but nods. Leo herds Erwen out of the tent and back to the zoomer. Climbing onto the passenger seat, Erwen looks around the area.

"Whelp, that was informative," Leo sighs, starting up the zoomer. Erwen doesn't respond as Leo steers the zoomer away from the tents and takes off.

"Hey kid," Leo starts. Erwen looks at him as he focuses on driving. He continues, "We need to call you something else. Too many enemies of the Underground know your name."

"The Underground?" Erwen asks. Leo gives her a quick smile before turning back to the road.

"A group of freedom fighters against Baron Praxis and the Metal Heads," Leo explains, driving through an area with more stone buildings. Slowing near the more dilapidated buildings, he stops at a large building.

"Here we are," Leo says, getting off the zoomer. Erwen climbs off the passenger's seat and follows Leo up the stairs, to a door marked C4. Leo grins at the marking as he pulls out a small card, swiping it near the door handle and opens the door.

"Welcome to my humble home," Leo mockingly bows as Erwen enters. The room appears bigger than Samos' hut, with doors implying more space. There is an elongated chair with three cushions, and a table in front of it.

"It's not much, but it's home," Leo shrugs, walking around another table to what seemed to be a metal stove.

"Thank you," Erwen says, removing the cloak. Leo turns and grins at her before starting what would be their dinner. The period between dinner and going to bed was spent in silence, interrupted with one or two questions. Erwen stands in the middle of the guest room as what happened during the day finally sets in. Swallowing down panic and worry, Erwen lays down in the bed, hopping she doesn't have nightmares of what could have happened to his friends.


	2. Lost Souls in Revelry

Within a month, Erwen has learned a lot about the history of Haven City. Of the House of Mar's rise and fall, of the Kima line and how they guarded the House of Mar. She learned of the usurper, Baron Praxis, and how his daughter helps the Underground. How the Underground was founded by the Shadow with Torn, an ex-Krimzon Guard, acting as second in command. She learned that most of the children had been taken to prison in hopes of finding the young prince and his guard among them. And she learned of the Dark Warrior Project.

"So, you're in danger?" Erwen asks as she and Leo drive to the Hideout. Leo huffs and shakes his head, glancing at her fondly.

"I'm not in danger, but you are. Kid, you've got the looks and ability of a Kima. Guess who the first and best test subjects were?" he tells her, swerving out of another driver's way. Erwen pursed her lips in thought, nodding in understanding.

"That makes sense… But why aren't you in danger?" she asks. Leo's face hardens and he doesn't reply, steering the zoomer to a back alley and braking.

"We continue on foot," he tells her, walking out of the alley. Erwen slides off the zoomer, sending a silent prayer to the Precursors that Jak, Daxter, Samos, and Keira were not being used for the Dark Warrior Project, before giving up and jogging after Leo. The two walk a good distance, following the city walls into the back of the slums before arriving at a wall with a strange symbol on it. A mask was perched on a sword, a symbol both Leo and Onin explained represents the Baron, with a hammer cracking the mask open. Leo raises his fist and starts banging on the wall, until it moves to the side, revealing a stairwell.

"C'mon, Kid. Down we go!" he chuckles, grinning as he starts down the stairs. Erwen shifts nervously, glancing around the empty area, before hurrying down the stairs. The light of the room at the bottom of the stairs helps illuminate the dark stairwell, but the walls didn't muffle a man yelling, "LEO, YOU DUMB SHIT!"

"Awww, I missed you too, Torn!" Leo chirps, hopping down the last few steps and scooping a scowling red haired man into an obviously one-sided hug. A snort of laughter off to the side brings Erwen's attention to a familiar woman.

"Mina showed up right after you two were supposed to clear out the forest and said you had someone to talk to," the man growls, pointing at Mina as she cackles at Leo's betrayed face.

"I thought you weren't going to tell him anything?" Leo whines. Mina huffs and rolls her eyes, grabbing a short boy by the shoulder and tug him to her side.

"Leo, you asked to buy you time. I'm not gonna lie to Torn just so you can scurry around the city," she replies, pushing the boy's hood down and ruffling his dark blue hair. The boy huffs and swats at her hands, getting a fond smile from Mina.

"But, Mina~" Leo whines, shuffling over to her and flopping his arms around her shoulders, leaning against the woman limply.

"Um, excuse me…" Erwen finally says, dragging the attention to herself. The woman looks at her in surprise, the boy looks at her curiously, Leo look particularly proud of himself, and the red haired man looks like he is about to combust.

"Who the hell is she?" the red haired man snarls, pointing an angry finger at her. Leo practically skips over to her, gently pulling her away from the stairwell.

"This is my new apprentice, Eco!" Leo chirps, wrapping arm around Erwen's shoulders and shakes her. The red haired man looks at the two, unimpressed.

"You don't take apprentices," Torn growls, crossing his arms and glaring at the two of them. Erwen slips out of Leo's arm and hides behind him as Leo puts his hand over his heart and gasps dramatically.

"TORN! I'm hurt! Of course I can take apprentices," Leo huffs, attempting to pout. Torn rolls his eyes, before narrowing them at Erwen.

"So, Eco… Any reason you let Leo drag you into the Underground?" Torn demands, watching her carefully as she hesitates momentarily. Glancing at Leo, Eco grins shyly.

"I- uh- got separated from my friends in the forest. When I saw Leo and- uh- Mina?" The purple haired woman smiles and nods, encouraging Erwen to continue, "Take care of the metal heads, I wanted to help somehow. Leo agreed to teach me." Leo grins and rewraps his arm around Erwen's shoulder, giving her a small shake.

"And she's adorable and should be protected at all costs," Leo proclaims, getting a disgusted look from Torn.

"She still needs to prove herself, Leo. Mina, take Eco to the pumping station outside the wall and get rid of the metal heads out there. Leo, go to Vin at the Power Station and keep an eye out for any losses in energy from the drill platform," Torn orders, turning to the blue-haired boy and raising an eyebrow. The boy hands Torn a roll of paper as Mina ushers Erwen out of the hideout. Erwen trips over her feet as Mina easily strides to a two seated zoomer. Mina pulls herself up on to the passenger seat, kicking her feet onto the dashboard. After a moment of hesitation, Erwen climbs into the driver's seat and stares at all the buttons and switches around the steering wheel. Mina raises an eyebrow at Erwen as Leo shoots by on a single seat zoomer.

"You do know how to drive a zoomer, right?" Mina asks. Erwen winces at Mina's question, chewing her bottom lip before admitting, "Kind… of?" Mina purses her lips before kicking her feet off the dashboard and hopping out of the passenger seat.

"Okay, I'll drive this time. But you're going to watch what I do and drive us back," Mina tells her, waving Erwen into the passenger seat. Erwen scoots into the seat as Mina jumps into the driver seat, flipping multiple switches and turning a different switch. The zoomer takes off toward the North Wall, just past the water slums. Mina switches zones repeatedly, passing multiple Krimzon Guard and civilians easily, despite the large build of the zoomer.

"Look, we got off on the wrong foot. I'm Mina, let's get along, 'kay?" Mina tells Eco. Erwen nods, watching the street and trying to memorize the route they're currently taking. Mina eventually drives over a rickety boardwalk in the water slums, arriving at a gate in the wall.

"Here we are, Eco," Mina announces, hopping off the zoomer. Erwen slides off and follows Mina as the gate opens to an empty room. The two step into the room, the door hissing closed behind them, startling Erwen enough to make her jump.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to the doors," Mina assures her as the lock on the other door slowly opens with a hiss. Once completely unlocked, the door opens to a beach-like area with a large tower in the center. The tower is wrapped in pipes of varying size and platforms leading to the top.

"Alright, Eco, Listen to me. You don't have a gun, so be careful. There are some metal heads nearby, stick close," Mina tells her. Erwen nods and jogs behind Mina, keeping up even in the sand. The two women stop at the sound of growling, startling Erwen while Mina scowls.

"Great, looks like we've got our work cut out for us," Mina groans, pulling out what Erwen now knows is a Dark mod of some kind, maybe the Mass Inverter. Erwen looks around as creatures drag themselves out of the water, hissing and growling at the two. After a moment of hesitation, Erwen focuses on channeling red eco, the power singing in her veins and turning her eyes red.

"Who wants to die first?" Mina snarls, shifting her gun on her shoulder. One of the creatures lunges at Mina, only to take a shot to the face. That seems to have been the signal as the rest of the creatures leap at them. Erwen bobs and weaves through the claws and teeth, punching a number back into the water as Mina continues to shoot the ones that get too close to her.

"Eco, down!" Mina yells, aiming her weapon at Erwen's head. With a squeak, Erwen drops in time to dodge a swipe from a Metal Head and the shot from Mina to take it out. Mina huffs, flipping her purple hair out of her eyes, giving Erwen a grin.

"I didn't realize I was working with a Kima," Mina chuckles, shaking her head ruefully. Erwen gives Mina a shy smile in return before the two women walk further around the pumping station. A few more Metal Heads leapt up and at the women, dying at Mina's gun barrel or Erwen's eco powered fists. Once they arrive at the higher ground, Mina stops Erwen and motions for silence, pointing at a large Metal Head up ahead.

"We're here to take that guy out," Mina whispers, shifting her Mass Inverter into the Peacemaker and hefting on to her shoulder, "make sure none of the others sneak up on me." Erwen nods and looks around, bouncing on the balls of her feet as Mina charges up her shot and aims. A Metal Head hisses at Erwen, baring it's claws and teeth at her. She replies with a snarl of her own when Mina fires her shot.

"Ah, shit! Run!" Mina yells, grabbing Erwen and sprinting. Erwen stumbles before getting her feet under her, speeding up as the sound of rubble falling follows them. They jump down as a large rock falls onto the path behind them. The two gasp for air and stare at the rubble.

"Well, we're not going that way anytime soon," Erwen comments. Mina wheezes with laughter, shaking her head with a grin.

"You're a riot, kid," Mina huffs, standing up and stretching. She sets her Peacemaker on her back and motions for Erwen to follow her, "Let's get you some fire power then head back." Erwen nods, trailing after Mina as they leave the Pumping Station. During the silence between the doors closing them from the station and the doors opening to let them in the city, Erwen decides to ask, "What do we say about the rubble." Mina stiffens, then grins nervously.

"We say nothing and hope Torn doesn't find out," Mina replies quickly, rushing out of the door as it lets them back into Haven and hops into the passenger seat of the two-seat zoomer just outside the door, leaning over and typing into the Navigation system. Erwen jogs over with a frown, carefully climbing into the driver seat as Mina props her feet onto the dash.

"Just go to the place on the Nav and avoid Krimzon Guard, got it?" Mina asks. Erwen straightens and nods, getting a snort from Mina.

"Don't look so serious, Eco. Just take your time, and you'll be fine," Mina assures her, sliding in the passenger seat and closing her eyes. Erwen turns to the console, takes a calming breath and starts up the zoomer. Carefully, Erwen begins to drive the zoomer, warily watching her surroundings and flinching at the zoomers speeding past. Eventually, they arrive at a discreet location at the Port, a few feet away from some sort of bar/tavern like place.

"Oh, good. We made it," Mina idly notes, kicking her feet down and sliding off the zoomer with no problems. Erwen stumbles off, squeaking quietly as she catches herself on the zoomer. Mina doesn't seem to notice, banging on the door and stepping back. After a pause, which Erwen uses to stumble beside Mina, the door swings open, revealing a towering man, his skin tone even darker than Mina's, with some sort of technology on his eye and large Metal Head skulls on his armor.

"Well, then. It's been a while, cherry," he coos, grinning down at Mina. She frowns at him, growling, "Not here for me, Sig." The man, Sig, looks over Mina's shoulder and smirks at Erwen, making her nervous.

"Hey there, chili pepper. You here for a lesson?" he asks. Mina grabs and drags Erwen inside while Erwen sputters and hops after the woman. Mina slams the door behind them and leans against the door while Erwen fumbles with her words.

"I- uh- I mean- I don't- ummm," Erwen trails off, burying her face in her hands and trying to slow her breathing. Pulling her face out of her hands, Erwen mumbles, "I need a gun." Sig chuckles while Mina snorts.

"I could tell, chili pepper. Here," Sig tosses her a small gun, which she ends up juggling, "that's a morph gun. It's currently in Scatter Mode, so be careful there." Sig opens up the course and motions at Erwen.

"Wait. Shouldn't I get a lesson or something?" Erwen squeaks, gripping the gun tight enough for her knuckles to turn white. Mina lets out a bark of laughter while Sig shakes his head with a chuckle.

"You know the theory behind the morph gun, right?" Mina asks. At Erwen's nod, Mina finishes, "Just change theory into practice."

"That's not how theory woRKS!" Erwen yelps as Sig nudges Erwen into the course. She stumbles and spins, only for the door to close behind her.

"Sorry about that, chili pepper, but it's better to just dive in," Sig apologizes over the speakers as Erwen frowns at the door. With a sigh, Erwen turns and takes a step forward, only to shriek when a Metal Head popped out of the ground. She throws the morph gun at the Metal Head, only to realize that it's a cut out. Feeling her face heat up, she's glad Jak and Daxter aren't with her for once, because they'd probably be crying from laughing too hard.

"Did you just throw your morph gun at a cutout?" Sig asks over the speaker while Mina is heard laughing in the background.

"Shut up!" Erwen growls, picking the gun back up and shifting it in her hand, holding it like she remembers Leo showing her how to. Another Metal Head cutout pops up, this time Erwen quickly raised the gun and pulled the trigger. While the cutout gets destroyed, Erwen stumbles back from the kick of the gun.

"Well done, chili pepper. You're a fast learner," Sig praises. At the praise, Erwen relaxes almost completely, into almost a zen like state as she begins to go through the course, moving quickly with blue eco coursing through her as she fires at every Metal Head cutout and tries to avoid the civilian cutouts. Skidding to a halt at the other door, she knocks on the door, waiting for Sig to open the door before saying, "Mina, you're a jerk." Sig cackles while Mina grins and shrugs, striding over and wrapping an arm around Erwen's shoulders.

"Glad to see you relax, kid," Mina answers.


	3. Running Wild

Ha ha, holy shit! This chapter got dark. Sorry for the wait, but this chapter was a little hard to get out, as I originally didn't know how I wanted this chapter to go. It introduces a few more OCs and covers more of the world building aspect of this series. I still hope you all enjoy.

* * *

After a month of learning how to use a gun and a few missions with Mina, Erwen settles into the role of Eco. Despite Torn's lagging suspicion, Leo has introduced her to multiple members of the Underground, from Henry and Ronnie, an undercover couple who run a shop in the bazaar, and Runner, the mute boy that Mina adopted as a brother, to Tess, the resident gun expert, and Emilie. Who Erwen found endlessly fascinating and hilarious in her relationship with Leo.

"Like, I love him without a single doubt, but he owes me so many lunch and dinner dates," Emilie gripes, pulling away from the zoomer's engine with a piece of it in her hand. Erwen hums in agreement, reading a history book that Leo got her instead of actively listening to Emilie. At the sound of Emilie huffing, Erwen rocks to the side, dodging the thing as Emilie flings it at Erwen.

"You are the worst rant wall, Eco," Emilie whines, despite her mouth twitching into a smile. Erwen looks up with a grin as the blonde woman wags her finger at the zoomer, complaining, "The zoomer is a better rant wall than you. How do you feel about that, Eco? A heartless machine is a better person than you are."

"Well, it can't be that much better of a rant wall if you still complain at me," Erwen points out, ducking down as another piece of machinery is thrown at her head. Emilie huffs, her smile betraying her actual feelings.

"You are the literal worst," Emilie tells her, wagging a finger at Eco.

"I thought I was the literal worst," Leo jokes as he strides into the garage, bags of food in his hands. Emilie squeaks and spins to face him while Erwen waves at her mentor.

"Leo!" Emilie cheers, giving him just enough time to put the food onto one of the tables before she leaps at him. Leo catches Emilie, swinging her around in a full circle before pulling her in for a rather deep kiss. Erwen sticks out her tongue at the two snogging before sliding off her seat and strolling over to the food, pawing through the bag before pulling out what she recognizes as her order. Hopping up on to the table, she sits cross-legged beside the food before taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Eco!" Emilie cries when she finally stops making out with Leo and looks at the younger woman. Erwen grins, completely shameless, as she continues to eat her food.

"What?" Erwen asks innocently after swallowing her bite. Emilie huffs, whining, "I wanted to take the first bite." Leo looks away from the two, his shoulders shaking in laughter, while Emilie pouts. Erwen raises an eyebrow, pointing out, "I'm pretty sure you just took a bite out of your boyfriend." Emilie sputters, turning a bright red, while Leo lets his laughter out, cackling even when Emilie turns and smacks his arm.

"Eco, go get my utensils," Emilie demands, sending Erwen a glare as she shakes the still snickering Leo. Erwen gives her a mock salute, taking a final bite of her sandwich and hopping off the table. Heading back, further into the garage, Erwen grins as she faintly hears Leo coo at Emilie, probably apologizing. Looking around, Erwen frowns as she realizes that the utensils aren't in the open. Opening the drawers, she rifles through the paper and metal thrown haphazardly in there. Sighing, she moves toward the trophy case, peeking around the golds and silvers. Seeing dull gray metal behind one of the newer medals, Erwen sighs and shakes her head in amusement, reaching around to grab the multipurpose utensil. As she straightens up, Emilie bursts in, her face pale in fear.

"Emilie?" Erwen says, looking at the mechanic in confusion. Emilie grabs her by the shoulders, attempting to push her further into the garage.

"Errol's out there," Emilie explains, still trying to move Erwen, who stopped. Errol, the man climbing ranks in the Krimzon Guard fast, who was known to be cruel among the Underground.

"What about Leo?" Eco hisses, moving around Emilie to peek through the door. The two men are standing in front of each other, Errol smirking while Leo's face is shockingly blank.

"… the new handler of the Dark Warrior Project. It seems that your lack of results have finally tired Baron Praxis, enough that he would have you replaced with me," Errol brags. Leo blinks, his mouth set in a frown as Errol begins to walk around Leo.

"What? No smart remark, Leo?" Errol taunts, leaning in to Leo's face. Leo raises an eyebrow, saying slowly, as if talking to someone who is stupid, "Results take time, patience, and intelligence. All three, of which, you are missing." Errol jolts back, a scowl quickly forming on his face.

"Laugh it up now, Kima. One day, you will be answering to me," Errol swears, turning and storming out of the garage. Before Errol is completely out of earshot, Leo calls, "Will it be how I want my laundry done or if I want more meat on my sandwhich?" Errol turns with a glare, snarling, before sniffing and leaving entirely.

"Asswipe," Leo sneers, glaring after Errol as Erwen opens the door fully.

"What was that about," she demands, storming up to Leo. The red haired man sighed, scratching at the back of his head as Emilie follows after Erwen, nervously rubbing her hands.

"It's… complicated," Leo sighs, shaking his head with a frown. Erwen grits her teeth at his avoiding the question.

"Leo, are you in trouble?" Emilie asks, walking over to her boyfriend. He shakes his head again, leaning against the zoomer as he rubs at his temples.

"Hell if I know. With the Krimzon Guard being put on more patrols and missions outside the walls, I don't get news straight from Baron Praxis anymore," Leo groans, pushing off the zoomer to smile a little uncertainly at the two women. An uncomfortable silence falls over the room before both Leo and Erwen's communicators go off.

"Leo, Eco, we need you two to get to dead town. There's been Metal Head sightings in the area," Torn growls over the device, "Ronnie and Henry are also heading over to finish evacuating the few civilians still outside the wall."

"We're on our way, Torn. Leo, out," Leo replies, already walking toward the entrance of the garage. Erwen gives Emilie a wave, which is hesitantly returned as Emilie returns to the zoomer with a nervous look on her face, before following Leo. The two climb onto a two-seated zoomer, Leo checking the gas gauge before driving off.

"That's why you were safe," Eco finally says as they fly through the streets, Erwen's ponytail flying back as they round a corner. Leo sighs, his eyes still focused in front of them as he steers, "Yeah. As the lead Guard to overlook the Dark Warrior Project, it gave me a certain immunity to the experiments happening to the others of my blood line." Erwen looks at him as he winces, hitting the breaks a little harder than needed.

"That… came out bad," Leo admits, scratching at the back of his head again as they start to move. Erwen swallowed nervously as she asks, "What happened?"

"…You remember how I told you about the former King?" Leo asks back. At Erwen's nod, he continues, "When the former King fled with his guard, there were a number of Kima's who couldn't flee with him. Because the leaders of the Krimzon Guards had betrayed the King, we were given immunity to the experiments from Baron Praxis. Many of the Kimas who were dragged into the experiments called me a traitor. It hurt, especially when I was part of the Underground movement trying to keep them safe." Erwen presses her lips together, watching the buildings speed past them.

"What would the Dark Warrior Project leader do if they got an eco channeler?" she asks. Leo glances at her curiously, causing her to clarify, "Someone who can channel eco, not internally make eco."

"They'd be put under the dark eco machine faster than any Kima in the prison. The few civilians used in the experiment that had a slight channeling ability showed even more promise than any Kima. They eventually died from overexposure," Leo explains, stopping the zoomer near a gate and two people. Ronnie is a large, imposing man who speaks very little and tends to forget his own strength, often lifting customers and Henry around the store if they can't reach an item on the top shelf. The scar on his ear and face with the dark green dreadlocks juxtapose his soft, shy personality. Henry, on the other hand, is a slip of a person, sliding easily between an elegant, aristocratic man and a vixen of a woman. Sarcastic and witty, they do the talking of any negotiations the duo find themselves in. Their ever-changing hair always falls elegantly over their blind left eye, just hiding the metal head scar that caused it.

"You two are late," Henry calls, their clothes distinctly feminine this day, while Ronnie looks away from Henry to give Leo and Erwen a small smile. Leo perks up, obviously glad to not be talking about the Dark Warrior Project anymore.

"Hello, you beautiful person. Oh, and hey, Henry," Leo greets, getting a slightly bigger smile from Ronnie while Henry puts on their best affronted look.

"How dare you! Ronnie isn't beautiful, he's handsome as all hell. Do keep that in mind," Henry sniffs, wrapping their hands around Ronnie's arm to drag him to the gate. Erwen giggles, even though the conversation from before weighs heavily on her mind. Hopefully, if the Krimzon Guard end up finding Jak, they don't find out that he is an eco channeler. The first set of gates opening pull Erwen from her thoughts, especially as both Henry and Leo crinkle their noses at the smell escaping the other gate.

"Whelp, that's awful," Leo gags, turning away to cough, as they wait for the second gate to open. Henry huffs, mumbling, "I hope it's not a sign of bad things to come." The gate finally opens, allowing the four out, Ronnie pulling out his scatter gun immediately, causing Erwen to pull out her own. Leo cracks his neck, drawing his Vulcan gun mod out of its holster and motions Erwen to follow him, Henry and Ronnie already heading to the opposite direction. Leo and Erwen move slowly and carefully, stopping at the sound of footsteps before continuing past. A growl on the other side of a wall causes Erwen to tense, glancing above her to see the chin of Slinger, that seems to be peering toward the gate that the four of them just left. She starts to raise her scatter gun when Leo grabs her wrist. Shaking his head, he motions for her to follow him, which she does obediently. The two stop at another crack in the wall, which Leo peeks around, his fingers tapping his thumb as he counts. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven metal heads, Erwen watches Leo count from his hand. He turns back with a small frown.

"I'm going to try and take out as many as I can. But, that will cause me to run out of ammo quickly, so you'll need to cover for me while I reload, okay?" he hisses. Erwen swallows nervously, but still nods, shifting with her scatter gun. Leo sticks his Vulcan gun around the wall and fires, shifting the gun minutely to make it almost a spread of shots. Multiple metal heads roar in pain while a few Slingers fling dark eco blobs toward the two, causing them to take cover behind the wall. Leo hisses in pain as a blob brushes his shoulder, burning away at his shirt.

"Well, damn," Leo groans, still reloading his gun as his hand trembles in pain. Not really thinking much beyond get rid of threat and protect Leo,Eco rolls past him, ignoring his yell of get back. Blue eco crackles through her as she dodges and weaves between the last three Slinger's shots, sliding up to one and firing two shots in rapid succession, killing it. The other two roar, first in anger then anguish as she slides under their every shot to double tap them. Once both collapse to the ground, Erwen rises, breathing heavily from adrenaline. She turns back to Leo nervously, stumbling in the mud she just slid through.

"Are you okay?" she asks quietly, waiting for the yelling that usually comes from when she fails to listen to someone. Leo shocks her by grinning and ruffling her hair, telling her, "I'll be fine once I get some green eco on my shoulder. But, Precursors kid. Don't scare me like that, okay?" Erwen blinks at Leo before nodding at his request. He gives her a grin before motioning her closer.

"Alright, can ya' pull me up, please? I need a bit of help," Leo asks, his right arm paler than the rest of his body with veins alternately glowing purple and red as his red eco fights the infection. She grabs his left arm and pulls him up, before staying on his right side, healing the infection with green eco. The two head back to the gate, where Henry and Ronnie were waiting with a small group of civilians, all of them filthy and mud covered.

"Shit, you look like hell," Henry observes, their hands going straight to their bag for more green eco. Ronnie frowns in concern, quietly asking, "Are you okay, Leo?"

"I'll be fine," Leo assures Ronnie, waving away Henry's green eco to look over the civilians. Most of them are older men and women with a few young teens, most of them watching Leo warily while others stare at Erwen in awe. She curls in on herself while Leo straightens his back.

"Alright, folks. We need to take you to safe houses in the city, so let's get a move on," Henry calls, motioning the small group toward the gate. Henry and Ronnie lead the group as Erwen and Leo bring up the rear. She keeps glancing at Leo nervously, watching the color slowly return to his arm as the dark eco is slowly expelled from his body. Exiting Dead Town, the group is greeted by other Underground members on zoomers, obviously there to escort the civilians to new safe houses.

"We did good today," Leo assures Erwen as the two climb onto a different two-seated zoomer than the one they arrived on. Erwen doesn't reply, too focused on everything that happened today. From finding out that Leo was the original handler of the Dark Warrior Project to the idea that she won't get scolded for doing what she felt was the right thing.

"You're thinking pretty hard over there, kid. What's on your mind?" Leo asks. Erwen hesitates before quietly asking, "What happened to the eco channelers who were experimented on?" Leo's happy grin drops and he sighs, mumbling, "I should have known you wouldn't drop it." The zoomer turns to the parking lot for the building they are living in.

"C'mon kid, it's not going to be pretty," Leo promises, sliding off the zoomer and jogging over to the apartment. Erwen follows, her gut telling her that she might regret asking. When she finally enters the apartment, Leo has wheeled out a monitor and is currently looking through some disks with a deep frown on his face.

"Since you want to know what happens to the eco channelers, you should see for yourself," Leo tells her, putting one disk in. The monitor flickers to life, showing a young man strapped to a table as Leo and Errol stand to the side, watching as the machine above the young man flickers to life. Dark eco arcs from the machine to the young man, causing him to scream in pain. His skin slowly pales before turning a light purple, dark eco starting to seep out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The Leo on the screen turns to say something to someone off to the side, only for Errol to grip his arm as more dark eco oozes from the young man. Erwen watches in mute horror as the man slowly becomes a corpse covered in dark eco-like goo as more and more dark eco is pushed into his body. Eventually, someone turns the machine off, leaving a goo covered corpse on the table. Errol goes to shove a woman who looked like the man, only for Leo to stop him.

"Since you just saw what happens to eco channelers, I think you should also see what happens to Kimas," Leo says, snapping Erwen's attention to him as he changes disks.

"Why didn't you stop them?" she whispers as Leo finishes setting up the video. He doesn't answer as the video shows two different experiments, one woman and a different man, who share Erwen's coloring. The man has a dark purple streak in his white hair while the woman is hyperventilating. The machine activates and they react differently. The woman shrieks, bowing away from the table, pulling at her bonds hard enough to cause her wrists to rub and bleed. She thrashes on the table, sobbing as dark eco continues to pour into her until she starts choking, the dark eco ooze bubbling out of her mouth and sliding from her nose and mouth. She stills quickly, staring blankly at the machine. The man, on the other hand, roars as the dark eco courses through his body. His hair darkens, matching the streak that is already in it as his veins become more and more prominent. He struggles just as fiercely against his bonds as the woman had, before abruptly stilling. Turning his head, he grins maliciously at Errol and Leo before he explodes, dark eco tainted blood and tendons scattering everywhere and covering everything. Leo pauses the video, turning to Erwen with a dark look on his face.

"Those two Kimas were our longest lasting subjects before we found out about the eco channelers," he quietly tells her, "the woman lasted twenty days before she passed on and the man lasted fifteen. The eco channeler lasted a month before he died." Leo looks her in the eye, red clashing against grey.

"I couldn't step in without putting the Underground and myself at risk. If they realized I was actively sabotaging their Project, the Baron would use the only weakness I have that's in his grasp to force me to betray the Underground. I couldn't risk it," Leo confesses. Erwen hesitates before reaching over, wrapping Leo in a hug. He tenses as she whispers, "I'm sorry."

"Kid, you have nothing to be sorry for. Their blood is on my hands not yours," Leo softly reminds her, even as he pulls her tightly in the hug.


End file.
